


The Principle of Loss

by SlothicalStories



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Action, Amputation, Angst, Comfort, Disaster, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Ghoulies, Hurt, Multi, Protective Jughead Jones, Rekindled Romance, Romance, Suspense, Unplanned Pregnancy, bughead - Freeform, serious injury, southside serpents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-04-27 03:33:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14416779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlothicalStories/pseuds/SlothicalStories
Summary: When Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones attempt to put an end to the drug war between two rival Southside gangs, things don’t go quite as planned when Jughead goes missing. How will Betty cope with the loss of her boyfriend, while struggling with new challenges that arise during his absense.





	1. Chapter 1

They knew it was a risky move, but they hadn’t been thinking with their heads. To them, it seemed that bringing the fight to the Ghoulies’ territory would minimize the damage to the Serpents. If only they would have had the hindsight to know that it would arguably be the biggest mistake either of them would ever make.

The plan seemed absolutely foolproof to Betty. She would sneak in through the back door of the Ghoulie’s hangout joint alongside her boyfriend Jughead, and plant a recording device in the form of a create carrying the ingredients to make Jingle Jangle. 

She had been gathering intel for weeks, tracking their delivery patterns and mapping out the interior of the Ghoulies hangout spot.

Betty had memorized their schedule and knew when the space would be relatively unoccupied. She had planned every last bit of the mission, and would expect nothing but a perfect execution.  
This wasn’t a regular stealth mission in mind, it was life or death.

The Ghoulies had been actively threatening the Serpents, trying to run them off of their land. They wanted the ability to expand their drug empire, and taking over Southside Serpent territory was their desired approach.

Unsurprisingly, this drug war was extremely unsettling for Betty, but that wasn’t what pushed her to go to such extremes as to infiltrate a rival gang’s territory. It was the fact that Jughead was beginning to be caught in the crossfire between the two gangs.

Her boyfriend was too damn stubborn and loyal to not fight tooth and nail for the serpents, but he was getting hurt in the process. Betty felt sick to her stomach every time he would meet up with her, and she would discover a new bruise etched upon his skin.

So when Betty proposed her plan for gathering pertinent information from the rival gang to her boyfriend, she refused to let Jughead talk her out of it.

Of course being the ever loyal and protecting boyfriend he is, Jughead refused to let Betty go about her mission without him by her side. 

That’s why Betty and Jughead found themselves standing outside of the back entrance to the Ghoulies hangout with the crate containing the recording device, ready to be deployed.

“They have a flaw in their rotational system; between 9:30 and 9:45 they won’t have anyone guarding this entrance. We have the perfect window to get in, drop the crate, and get the hell out.” Betty punctuated the end of her plan by reaching back to tighten her signature ponytail.

Jughead let out a shaky breath he wasn’t aware that he had been holding, and turned to Betty, nodding. “Well then, let’s get this done.” he balanced the crate on his hip and pushed open the cold metal door that led into the Ghoulies’ den, making sure Betty was following him.

Betty hadn’t accounted for the lack of light inside, but she slowly moved through the darkness anyway, determined to go through with this. 

She continued walking slowly forward, unsure of how far she had travelled until she stopped suddenly when she heard the deafening click of a gun, and felt the icy barrel press threateningly against her temple.

“Betty!?” Jughead whispered into the darkness, “What the hell was...” he was suddenly cut off when he felt himself being pulled back and restrained by two strong sets of arms, and didn’t have the chance to process this change until the lights clicked on, revealing the fact that they were surrounded by Ghoulies.

Jughead squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, darting around the room to locate his girlfriend. He began to furiously struggle against the men who restrained him when he located Betty being held in a death grip by Malachai, who was pressing a gun to her head.

Malachai let out a booming laugh that seemed to echo off of the walls when he saw how Jughead fought to get free with no avail. He pressed the gun harder into Betty’s temple, sneering at Jughead, “Putting me in jail was a big mistake Jones.” a deadly glint entered Malachai’s eyes as he tightened his arm around Betty’s neck, effectively cutting off her air supply.

“Jug...” Betty choked out, her face beginning to turn a sickly shade as she struggled to get air.

Hearing the sound of her pleading voice sent Jughead into a frenzy, as the fear of losing Betty gripped his heart, “Let her go you piece of shit! I don’t care if you kill me, just don’t hurt her!” his statement was met by a strangled cry from Betty. Meeting her eyes, he mouthed “I love you.” as a wave of tears spilled from Betty’s glassy eyes. 

“Have it your way Jones, after all, killing you would be so enjoyable for me, it’s almost sinful.” Malachai quickly brought the butt of the gun against Betty’s head with a sickening crack, and she slumped over lifeless in his arms.

Jughead cried out Betty’s name as Malachai nodded to his men to take the beanie wearing boy away, leaving him to watch the limp form of his girlfriend be dragged away by the man he hated most in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

When she came to, Betty had such a bad headache that she couldn’t bear to open her eyes. Frowning, she tried to remember what had happened the night previous that had rendered her unable to think straight. Opening her eyes to see that she was in Jughead’s trailer, everything came back to her in an instant. Betty snapped up in bed, only to smack her head against something, or more accurately, someone.

“Ow, what the hell kid!” FP clutched at his forehead in pain as Betty sprung out of bed, searching the room frantically for any sign of her boyfriend.

“Jesus, slow down a little, will you? I swear you were out cold just a minute ago....” FP chuckled as he lowered himself down onto the couch Betty had previously occupied. 

“Where’s Jug? I ought to ground him for life, leaving you passed out behind the Wyrm like that...” the older man trailed off, shaking his head as he remembered finding his sons girlfriend in such a state the previous night.

The mention of him finding her at the White Wyrm stopped Betty in her tracks. She turned to FP and questioned slowly, “You found me at the Wyrm, not...”

FP suddenly turned all too serious, looking Betty directly in the eye, “As opposed to finding you where? What were you and Jug up to last night? Did you two have a fight? After all, it isn’t like him to leave your side, and I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

At the mention of her boyfriend’s absense, Betty immediately burst into tears, collapsing onto the floor. Startled, FP leapt up to comfort the young girl who’s mood had changed so suddenly. 

“Betty, I’m going to need you to take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Where’s my son?” FP wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, which only caused her tears to intensify.

Betty gulped back her tears and tried to speak, “It wasn’t meant to happen this way, I had a plan but the Ghoulies were waiting for us, and then they got Jug... and they... oh god this is all my fault!”

As much as she tried to, Betty couldn’t stop the wave of guilt that overtook her, rendering her unable to speak. She looked up to gauge FP’s reaction, and was startled to find that he was frantically typing a number into his cellphone.

“Who are you calling?!” Betty croaked as she slowly rose to her feet.

FP reached for his coat and shrugged it onto his shoulders. “I’m calling Sweet Pea to tell him to round up the Serpents. If the Ghoulies are involved, we’re going to need backup.”

He quickly grabbed the keys to his truck from the counter and swung open the trailer door, stopping to make sure that Betty was following. 

“Let’s get a move on Cooper, you’re explaining everything to me on the way.” 

——

After a long and emotionally draining ride, Betty and FP arrived at the White Wyrm. The serpents were already gathered together inside when they entered the bar.  
FP was almost immediately approached by a senior serpent that Betty didn’t recognize, but she knew he was important by the way the crowd parted for him, and how he carried himself as if he were above FP himself.

“Care to explain why I was woken up at the crack of dawn by Sweet Pea sending me half a million texts, Jones?” The serpent crossed his arms, sending FP a well rehearsed glare that chilled Betty to the core.

FP growled, “They have my boy Mustang, the Ghoulies have crossed the line this time.” At the mention of their rival gang, a tense silence fell over the group.

“Topaz,” FP called out, turning to a younger serpent who Betty recognized as Jughead’s friend from school, “I need you to keep an eye on Betty, make sure she stays here where she’s safe.”

Betty glared at FP, “You’re crazy if you think I’m staying here while Jug is in danger.” Standing up to punctuate her point, she pushed past both FP and Toni to make her way towards the door. Just when Betty thought she was going to make her way out undisputed, another Serpent from school grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him.

“Look blondie, I don’t know much about you other than the fact that you’re Jug’s girl, which is enough for me to know that you going will only make matters worst.” Betty opened her mouth to interrupt him, but he continued before she had the chance, “The best thing for Jughead right now is to know that you’re safe. He needs to worry about protecting himself, and he can’t do that properly if you put yourself in danger.”

The two teens stared at each other for a moment while Betty processed what the young serpent had just told her. Seemingly unable to find fault in what he had just said, she broke his gaze and walked over to FP.

“You call me the minute you find him. Got it?” Betty raised her eyebrow at FP as she impatiently waited for him to agree to her terms.

Fp swiftly nodded, “You’ve got it Cooper.”  
Looking past Betty to the boy who had miraculously changed the headstrong girl’s mind, he barked out an order, “Sweet Pea, you can stay here too. We can’t be too careful, the Ghoulies will take any chance they get to attack.”

Sweet Pea nodded in agreement and went to stand with Betty and Toni. Together, they watched FP and the rest of the serpents suit up, and exit the White Wyrm. Little did they know, it would be for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read the second chapter! I know I said I would update on Friday, but I was too darn excited. I have another two chapters written already, but I’m not sure if I should post them now or wait. Anyway, I hope you’ve been enjoying this fic so far!


	3. Chapter 3

After the serpents left to rescue Jughead, Betty became a nervous wreck. She couldn’t seem to find any peace despite Sweet Pea’s many attempts to get her to sit down and relax. Even when Toni offered to make her something to eat, she turned her down, claiming she felt too nauseous.

Finally after a few hours of nervous pacing (and to the tremendous relief of Sweet Pea and Toni), Betty fell asleep on the couch in FP’s office. It was a restless slumber as Betty tossed and turned so much, the pair worried she might roll off the couch.

“I’m going to kill Jug if he doesn’t come back, the poor girl can’t even find peace while asleep.” Toni shook her head, sighing deeply, “He’s got a hold on her heart, let’s hope he doesn’t break it.” She crossed over to where Betty was sleeping, sitting on the edge of the couch beside her and stroking her blonde locks.

“He’s gonna come back T, the Jones men are resilient, touch as nails.” Toni rose from her spot to be engulfed by Sweet Pea’s comforting embrace as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

Toni voice shook as she finally voiced the concern she had harbored since Jughead had been declared missing, “Betty is going to need some of that strength if this doesn’t go our way.”

The pair clung to each other in silence, both wrestling with the dreaded reality that it was entirely possible that Jughead wasn’t coming home.

Breaking their embrace, Toni wiped away a tear that had fallen and collected herself, “Hey, why don’t you keep an eye on her while I go make us something to eat?” she whispered to Sweet Pea.

“Not hungry.” he grumbled in reply, betrayed by his own body when this statement was followed by a large rumble from his stomach. Sighing, the young serpent flopped down onto the armchair beside Betty, admitting defeat.

Toni smirked and stuck her tongue out at Sweet Pea, closing the office door softly and heading over to the kitchen. Sweet Pea didn’t allow the scowl to leave his face until her footsteps signaled that she had left.

Glancing back at Betty, he noticed that she was becoming increasingly more restless by the minute. Sweet Pea grabbed a blanket that was folded over the back of the couch and smoothed it over Betty, tucking her in. 

Feeling the comforting warmth around her, Betty sighed and began to lay still for the first time since she had fallen asleep. Sweet Pea smiled at the sight of Betty finally relaxed, and carefully backed away as to not disturb her.

“G’night Coop.” He murmured before collapsing into a cozy armchair. Comforted by the fact that Betty was finally relaxed and food was on the way, he allowed himself succumb to his fatigue.

Betty was awoken slowly by the feeling of warmth on her face. She snuggled deeper into the blanket wrapped around her body, not yet awake enough to remember the troubles that floated around in her head. This warmth suddenly became a burning heat, and Betty whimpered at the discomfort it brought. 

Next came the bitter and harsh smell of smoke, and Betty gasped, eyes flying open when she began to choke on the air around her. Her eyes burned as she scrambled to her feet, unable to see anything but a small area around her. Thick smoke flanked her from every side, and was making it hard for her to breathe. She extended her arms to feel for something to grab ahold of, and let out a wheeze when she couldn’t even manage to see her hands in front of her.

Betty was paralyzed with pure fear, trying to scream with no avail. Her lungs felt thick and heavy with the dark smoke that billowed in clouds around her.

Her gaze snapped back to her arms, and she was finally able to let out a cry when she found that her cardigan had caught fire. The flames stared from her elbow, and danced up her arm until she could smell the pungent scent of burning hair. 

She quickly shrugged the cardigan off of her body, tossing it as far away from herself as she could, as if that would help the situation at hand.

Betty’s heart dropped into her stomach when she heard the strangled voice of Sweet Pea cry out from somewhere beside her. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, too stunned that he was in this disaster with her. 

Jolted into action by the realization that he seemed to be in pain, she dropped down to the floor, crawling towards the muffled moans of anguish. She stopped when her hands closed upon Sweet Pea’s arm, pulling herself towards him so that she hovered over his face.

“Please, help...” he trailed off as another intense wave of pain overcame him. Betty assessed him to find out the source of his pain. Sweet Pea was lying on the ground, his top half facing towards Betty, his lower half concealed by the smoke. 

Once Betty was sure that it everything above his torso was relatively uninjured, she crawled towards his legs, letting out a gasp when she realized the terrible truth of Sweet Pea’s situation.

His left leg was completely crushed under a large pile of smoldering rubble that had seemingly fallen in the chaos of the fire.

Betty was frozen once again for the second time since she had awoken, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Sweet Pea was trapped below a pile of rubble, and Betty didn’t know what to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Staring at the trapped body of Sweet Pea, Betty’s mind was racing a million miles a minute as she tried to come up with a way to help her new friend. It seemed as though he was physically uninjured other than his left leg, which was the reason for Betty’s increasing level of panic. 

She knew that if he didn’t get his leg free soon, he may lose too much blood. Her clothes were already becoming soaked with it as she pressed her hands against a large cut that ran along the length of his trapped leg, trying to stop the bleeding. Her hands began to tremble when she realized that Sweet Pea’s leg may also be bleeding in more places than were visible, as half of it was concealed by the rubble.

Sweet Pea suddenly grabbed Betty’s wrist with hands that were alarmingly cold, and Betty looked over at his face which was bravely trying to hide the amount of pain she knew he was experiencing.

“Betty you need to listen to me. You can’t help me from in here. Please, focus on getting yourself out of the building. Once you’re somewhere safe, you can help me from there.” he let out a pained exhale as he released his grasp on Betty.

“What about you? I can’t just leave you here to die!” Betty whimpered as the tears began to fall from her troubled eyes. “I can’t lose another person, I won’t leave you here alone.” 

Determination surging through her, Betty moved through the smoke towards his leg and began pulling pieces of rubble off of Sweet Pea. She could faintly hear him trying to argue with her, but the ringing in her ears overpowered his voice as she put all of her strength into pushing rocks and bits of wood off his leg.

Finally, with sweat pouring off of her body as the temperature in the room continued climbing, Betty reached the source of the problem. A large metal pole was lying horizontally atop of his leg, holding it firmly to the ground.

“I figured out what’s trapping your leg, now I just need to move it!” Betty cried out to Sweet Pea. She waited for a response, but no sound came from the man who’s leg she had just uncovered. 

“Sweet Pea?” Betty questioned as she slowly crawled towards his face, letting out a gasp when she realized his eyes were closed. Darting towards his top half, she began shaking his shoulders, yelling his name as she tried to wake him up. 

Betty released a sob as she slowly inched her fingers towards his neck. Pressing them to his neck she searched for a pulse, letting out a huge sigh of relief when she finally found one. This feeling of relief was short lived when she realized just how faint his pulse really was.

Unfortunately, Betty had been so absorbed in her task that she hadn’t realized how dangerously close the flames were creeping up behind her. When this detail came to her attention, Betty began frantically pushing against the metal pole, realizing her time was running out.

In a final attempt to free Sweet Pea, she desperately began ramming her body against the pole as sparks popped and crackled directly behind her. Betty’s heart raced as she continuously threw herself against the rubble, knowing she had mere minutes left before the flames would be upon them. She didn’t stop her attempts until she heard a loud groan coming from the collapsing roof directly above her head. 

Betty didn’t even have a chance to locate the source of the noise before a large brick came crashing down on her head, causing everything to go dark.

—

 

“Thank you very much Dr. Staples. Can you go check on the patient in bed five? I’ll finish updating Ms. Cooper’s friend, then I’ll be right there to assist you.” 

“I don’t understand, you said she would wake up quickly but it’s been five hours now. Are you sure there’s nothing seriously wrong with her?”

Hearing the familiar voice of Toni, Betty began to try and open her eyes. She was annoyed by the fact that this was the second time she was waking up with a splitting headache in the past 24 hours. She swallowed and immediately whimpered in pain when it felt as thought her throat was on fire. Looking around at all of the medical equipment, she quickly discovered that she was in a hospital room. 

Speaking in hushed but urgent voices at the foot of her bed was a tall brunette doctor, and a very worried Toni Topaz. Betty searched around the room but hard as she tried, she couldn’t find Sweet Pea.

“Where is he?” Betty questioned in a strained voice that caused Toni to snap her head towards the frail blonde lying in the hospital bed. 

“Oh thank god, you’re finally awake! I was worried sick! Your parents just left to grab something to eat, but they should be back soon. ” Toni exclaimed, a relieved smile lighting up her features as she came to sit at Betty’s bedside.

“Where is he?” Betty repeated, this time with a steadier voice. She didn’t miss the sudden darkening of Toni’s face when she asked her question once more.

“Sweet Pea? I’m not going to lie to you Betty, he’s in rough shape. The firemen got you two out just in time, but....he was bleeding heavily out of his leg when they brought him here. He’s been in surgery for hours now.” Toni murmured that last part to herself as the worry she had carried for Betty moments ago now transferred to her other injured friend.

Betty had so many burning questions to ask about the fire and her subsequent rescue, but there was one question that was of utmost importance.

“Are the serpents back? Did they find...” Betty trailed off, unable to utter the name of the boy she had been separated from for too long.

“I’m sorry Betty, they haven’t found him yet. FP and the others came back as soon as they heard about the fire. We’re still trying to figure out what started it.” Toni answered, casting a sympathetic glance towards Betty who had visibly deflated at the news. 

As soon as she heard that her boyfriend was nowhere to be found, Betty couldn’t help but wish she hadn’t made it out of the fire alive. Horrible as the thought was, living without knowing whether or not Jughead was alive was absolute torture.

Hot tears began to spill from Betty’s doe like eyes, and she immediately hated herself for giving in to her emotions. She turned her head away from Toni and started at the wall instead, trying to fight the tears that kept falling.

“It’s alright sweetie, you’re going to be just fine!” came the voice of the doctor who Betty had completely forgotten was in the room.

“I need to go check up on another patient, but one of the other doctors will be here in a moment to give you a run through on your condition!” and with that, the much too cheery doctor exited the room, leaving Betty and Toni in a tense silence.

Betty knew she was being unfair to Toni by ignoring her, but she couldn’t handle the multitude of emotions running through her mind. The lives of two people she knew hung in the balance, yet she lay here alive and well.

Toni wished she knew something to say that would put Betty’s mind at ease, but she was barely keeping it together herself. Two of Toni’s best friends had both either gone missing, or been seriously injured and she had no idea whether they were alive. For all she knew Jughead was lying in a ditch somewhere, and Sweet Pea was flatlining on the table.

Toni was pulled out of her train of thought when another doctor entered the room. This time it was a younger girl who had her hair up in a bouncy ponytail. This doctor skipped into the room with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Toni chuckled to herself as she realized this doctor was a carbon copy of Betty, other than the fact that her hair was auburn instead of blonde.

“Hello Ms. Cooper! I’m Dr. Bell and I’ll be your physician during your stay here at Riverdale General Hospital!” the young lady chirped, with even more enthusiasm than the last doctor. 

Betty was about to interrupt to ask if she could just have some time alone when Dr. Bell continued on with her speech.

“Don’t worry Ms. Cooper, you’re perfectly healthy other than a small concussion, which is no cause for concern. You were given oxygen when you arrived, so we are no longer worried about the amount of smoke you inhaled. We want to monitor you for another hour, but you can be discharged after that!” Dr. Bell informed Betty with a smile.

“Thats all great, but please,” Betty managed to say before Dr. Bell once again interrupted her.

“I know just what you’re going to ask Ms. Cooper, but don’t worry. Your baby is perfectly healthy!” said Dr. Bell with a knowing smile, seemingly thinking she had just answered the blonde’s question. In reality, she had confused Betty even more.

Betty was just about to interrupt again, but that statement caused her to freeze. She figured this lady must be confused, and she looked over at Toni to see if she heard the same thing Betty had. Toni looked just as confused, staring at Betty with her eyebrows raised.”

“I’m sorry Dr. Bell, I believe you have the wrong patient.” Betty explained, letting out a shaky laugh as she reassured herself this was all a misunderstanding.

“I don’t think I do,” Dr. Bell began reading from the chart she held in her hand, “Betty Cooper, age 16, in for a mild traumatic brain injury, 8 weeks pregnant.” she finished, looking up at Betty with a worried expression.

“Ms. Cooper, were you not aware that you’re pregnant?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This chapter was the hardest to write so far because I wanted to properly capture the stress of Betty’s situation when she was trapped with Sweet Pea. In the chapter coming next Friday, the fate of Sweet Pea will be revealed!


End file.
